Valorization of spent mushroom substrate in combination with agro-residues to improve the nutrient and phytohormone contents of vermicompost

Vermicomposting technology as a dynamic strategy to mitigate environmental crisis: a bibliometric study of last three decades

Efficient recycling of resources forms the cornerstone of sustainable development. Among multiple options in stock for waste recycling, vermicomposting technology is regarded as a futuristic strategy, being tested in every part of the globe due to easy accessibility. Hence, a bibliometric study was planned to set a sight on global scientific trends encompassing vermicomposting research in last three decades. The data were retrieved from Google Scholar, Scopus and PubMed. Publications from different search engines were filtered out and 2064 unique documents were collected and illustrated in MS Excel and Vos-viewer. Inferences were drawn on significant aspects, such as publication growth trend, journal analysis and co-occurrence of keywords. The study revealed that the number of publications increased from 3 in 1992 to 166 in 2021. The number of citations also increased and peaked at 4314 in 2015. Following this, we clustered keywords using principle component analysis and worked out links between domains of vermicomposting. Vermicomposting conjoined to words substrate manipulation, quality improvement, heavy metal adsorption, and yield parameters. This implies that vermicompost is being explored for many alternate uses in addition to its use as a fertiliser. We concluded that vermicomposting is one of the promising technologies for waste recycling. It modulates plant growth and subdues stress in plants. Additionally, being an efficient adsorbent, it serves bioremediation of contaminated sites. Therefore, the future of this technology lies in synthesising nano-formulations, integrating into biosensor technology, simulating for predicting timelines under different conditions and making efforts to improve their adsorption.

Insights into the panorama of antibiotic resistome in cropland soils amended with vermicompost in China

The accumulation and propagation of animal-derived antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) pose great challenges to agricultural ecosystems. Vermicompost has drawn global attention as a new type of eco-friendly organic fertilizer. However, the effects of vermicompost application on ARGs in soil are still unclear. Here, we conducted a nationwide large-scale survey to explore the impact of vermicompost application on ARGs and the host in cropland fields as well as their regional differences. Vermicompost application was found to alter the pattern of ARGs, reduce the transfer of mobile genetic elements (MGEs), and mitigate the proliferation of high-risk bla-ARGs in soil. Regional differences in vermicompost-derived ARGs were observed in croplands, with less ARG-spreading risk in brown and yellow-brown soils. Total ARG abundance was present at the lowest level (1.24 × 10⁵-3.57 × 10⁷ copies/g) in vermicomposted soil compared with the croplands using animal manure (e.g., swine, chicken, and cow manure). Furthermore, vermicompost application increased the abundance of beneficial bacteria like Ilumatobacter and Gaiella, while reducing the abundance of Acidobacteria and Pseudarthrobacter. Network analysis showed that vermicompost altered ARG host bacteria and reduced the numbers of potential ARG hosts in soil. Microbes played a key role in ARG changes in vermicompost-treated soil. Our study provides valuable insight into the response of soil ARGs and the host to vermicompost in cropland ecosystem, and also provides a novel pathway for controlling the propagation of animal-derived ARGs.